1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a remote verification system and, more particularly, to such a system that provides users with a secure web browser to access sensitive information on a computer.
2. Description of the Related Art
Several designs for remote verification systems have been designed in the past. None of them, however, include a system using a microcontroller, such as a USB, that when inserted into a computer verifies a user's identity with a server and when authorized with a secure web browser allows the user to access websites that hold confidential data.
Applicant believes that the closest reference corresponds to U.S. patent No. 2007/0061566 issued to Baily et al. The Bailey reference teaches of a server connected to a network using a remote computer that communicates with a USB device through software programs downloaded on the remote computer. However, it differs from the present invention because the present invention uses a secure web browser that is generated and can only be accessed by the user who owns the USB. A secure web browser allows the user to access web pages, such as those for banks, making a payment, on a computer while eliminating the risks associated with data being saved on a computer's local memory and not having to create multiple passwords for different websites. The Bailey reference does not teach or motivate one to develop a specialized system that does not require the use of any programs that may capture a user's data locally. The Bailey reference does not teach of a secure web browser to be accessed by authentication when a user enters a USB into the computer.
The present invention also differs from the Bailey reference because the present invention continuously verifies whether the USB is still plugged into the computer. The Bailey reference does not teach of verifying whether the USB is still plugged into the computer while the user is using the system. This leads to vulnerabilities in the safety and reliability of the system.
Other documents describing the closest subject matter provide for a number of more or less complicated features that fail to solve the problem in an efficient and economical way. None of these patents suggest the novel features of the present invention.